Insect Protection Garment

ABSTRACT

A one piece, self-supporting total body covering for protection against insects to be used by campers, hikers, fisherman, hunters or by professionals who work in the outdoors such as scientists and photographers. The garment will be mostly made of a see-through material impervious to insects. What is new and different about this garment is that it will create and area inside the netting large enough to eat, read, etc, and keep the user protected from insects and comfortable for long periods of time. It will be easy to deploy, wear, remove and transport.

This invention is for protection from bothersome and biting insectsnormally occurring in outdoor areas. It is a one piece, self-supportingtotal body covering. It will be made mostly of see-through nettingmaterial impervious to insects. Most importantly it will create a largeenough space, inside the netting, to allow the wearer to eat, drink andrelax while doing normal activities, without having to remove thegarment, thus reducing exposure to annoying and harmful insects. Thenetting will be well away from the face making it comfortable to wearfor long periods of time. It will be easy to deploy, wear, remove andtransport.

DESCRIPTION Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is an improvement on all other types of insect protectiongarments for anyone in an outdoor area where bothersome insects arepresent. It is designed to be easy to use and comfortable to wear.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Previously users of the outdoors have had to use either a head net or ahead net in combination with a full body suit to protect themselves frominsects. Head nets are uncomfortable, especially if you have to wear onefor hours, or all day, or day after day as is the case when working orcamping outdoors. The netting is only inches from the face, which getsannoying very quickly and makes activities such as eating verydifficult. To eat, the head net must either must be removed thusexposing the person to the insects, or the user can try to pull the neckelastic out far enough to get a fork full of food into the mouth, whichis difficult, and also creates an opening for insects to enter, thusundermining the protective aspect of the head net. Some try to solvethis problem by eating in a tent, this is not recommended becauseanimals are attracted to food smells and bears, skunks etc may come tothe tent looking for a meal.

Suit type body protection must be worn over full length clothing as thenetting cannot be held away from the skin. This makes suit types veryuncomfortable on hot days when insects are present. They also must beused in conjunction with a head net which fails to address the problemof how to eat and perform other necessary tasks without creating anopening for insects to enter or removing the head net.

Some users of the outdoors rely on chemical repellants on their skin orclothing. Recent reports on these chemicals safety on the body make manyreluctant to place it on the skin or inhale the vapors given off bythese harsh chemicals even when placed on clothing. Some have labelwarnings of chemical stains if placed on clothing, and have to bere-applied frequently to be effective.

The Alquist et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,990 is a hood arrangement, andfails to address the need for a larger inside area to eat, read etc. TheAlquist hood also hangs very close to the face which is annoying. Italso fails to address the ability to be folded into a small and morepack able size. Also the crown piece is made of mesh material thatprovides little shade and no rain protection. It can be raining hardenough to get a person wet, yet not deter the insects. It also appearsthat the reinforcing cross strips on top lay directly on the headpotentially making it uncomfortable after many hours of use. The Alquistet al hood has no openings for convenience, necessitating it to beopened or removed frequently to perform simple tasks.

The Merrill, U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,993 and Myers U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,781are both suit type of garments that would be extremely hot on evenmoderately warm days. The face netting can be opened for eating etc, butthere is nothing to prevent insects from flying inside the head piecewhile opened, thus undermining the protective aspect of the garment.

So what is desired is a garment that is one piece, light weight, coversthe whole body and has a large enough inside space so you can eat, readetc and has openings for convenience so the garment will need to beremoved as little as possible. It has a top that not only blocks insectsfrom entering, but also provides shade and rain protection and allowsthe user to wear shorts and tee shirt on hot days.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is intended to be worn to provide protection from insectsand to be easy to deploy, wear, remove and transport. It is to used bypeople who wish to engage in outdoor activities where enjoyment of suchactivities may be compromised by bothersome or biting insects.

It can also be used by military personnel deployed in areas where bitinginsects are a big problem and they are faced with long exposure timesand where the possibility of contracting malaria is a factor. Thisinvention could also help the populations in poorer countries or anyplace where there is a danger of malaria. There are bug nets for theheads and beds but none for the body, this invention fills that need.

A key of this invention is to have insert protection that can be wornover regular clothing, including light weight shirts and shorts that arenormally worn outdoors when the weather is hot. Biting insects thrive inhot weather and having to wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants on 90degree plus days is dreadful and possibly dangerous as such clothingcould facilitate heat stroke.

It is the object of this invention to provide a large enough insidespace as to not be annoyed by netting close to the face. Also to allow alarge enough inside space for activities such as eating, drinking,smoking, sewing, repairing, cleaning gear or reading a map or book orwriting in a journal, without fear of biting bugs.

A key of this invention is the spring steel, or plastic ring of the topto be the only support necessary for this garment. Also that the ring ofthe top will hold the netting well away from the face of the wearercreating a space inside impervious to bugs. Another key to thisinvention is that the ring on top will be sewn into the outer edge ofthe top material so as to allow it to be twisted and folded toapproximately one third of it's unfolded size to make it much easier topack and transport.

Another important aspect to this invention is the opening in the front,at approximately waist level, will have a Velcro™ or similar closurethat is large enough to pass a plate of food, a book, etc inside. Theopening for men will be located where a zipper on a regular pair ofmen's pants is located to facilitate the use of a restroom as needed.This will also have a Velcro™ or similar closure.

The seating area, which is in back, at waist level, extending down tojust above the back of the knee, will be made of a durable material suchas nylon so as to reduce the possibility of wear and tear when sittingon abrasive surfaces such as rocks or logs. The opening in the seatingarea will also be large enough to allow the use of a restroom withoutremoving the garment and will have a Velcro™ or similar closure.

There will also be a round piece of cotton or other soft material sewnonto the inside of the top to deny insects the ability to bite thewearer on the head. There will also be a chin strap made of elasticstrap material or cloth string with a cord lock, permanently attached tothe round piece of cloth material attached to the top. It will be longenough to comfortably reach under the chin of the wearer to hold thegarment in place.

There will be a strip of the durable nylon material at the bottom toprevent wear if dragged on the ground. There will be elastic straps sewnto the bottom strip that can be looped under the shoes to hold thegarment down far enough to prevent insects from entering from thebottom.

The garment can be rolled up to waist level or to shoulder or neck leveldepending on how much of the body the wearer wants to protect.

The entire bottom of the garment will be open to allow entry into thegarment and make removal easy. Also the garment can be closed at thebottom around the shoes to keep insects from getting inside. This alsowill allow the wearer to walk around the campsite, etc. Also, if thewearer prefers to bring the feet inside, the entire bottom of thegarment can be sealed with the Velcro™.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the front elevation of the garment.

FIG. 2 is the right elevation of the garment.

FIG. 3 is the rear elevation of the garment.

FIG. 4 demonstrates how a nylon strip of material should be attached tothe top and the bottom of the netting material.

FIG. 5 demonstrates how the spring steel or plastic hoop should be sewninto the material on the top piece of the garment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 the front elevation of the garment for the protection frominsects is illustrated, it is a one piece total body covering. It can bemade as a large size for adults or smaller sizes for smaller adults orchildren. It will be constructed mostly out of see-through insectbarrier netting and nylon. The top piece 1 is made of nylon or othersimilar material that will provide a barrier from insects and shade andrain protection for the wearer. Sewn into the outer edge of top piece 1is preferably a narrow spring steel hoop, but maybe a strong plastichoop 2 that will provide support for the garment and should have theability to be twisted and folded for packing convenience.

The top piece 1 will be made of a circular piece of nylon or similarmaterial that is commonly used to make outdoor clothing or tents. Theedge will be sewn in such a way as to prevent fraying.

The spring steel or plastic hoop 2 will be sewn into the outer edge oftop piece 1. Top piece 1 will be folded over at the edge so the hoop 2will be between the layers of material. Double stitching for strength isrecommended.

The netting 11, that extends down below the top piece 1 will be sewn tothe outer edge of the top piece 1. Before sewing the netting 11 to thetop piece 1, a strip of nylon 12 should be sewn to the top of thenetting 11 where it will be attached to top piece 1. The strip of nylon12 should be folded over so the top of the netting 11 will be betweenthe layers of the folded nylon 12 and then double stitched for strength.Then the strip of nylon 12 with the netting 11 attached can be sewn totop piece 1 and double stitched for strength.

The arm openings 3 and 7 may have a permanently attached sleeve (notshown) and allows the wearer to extend the hand and arm outside of thenetting to cook, operate a camera, set up a tent, etc. If a sleeve isattached to openings 3 and 7, a strip of nylon should be sewn on the endof the sleeve that will be attached to the garment and then the nylonsewn to the garment. The sleeve should be made of netting or nylonmaterial. With or without the sleeve the opening can be closed,preferably with Velcro™, or with a zipper or other types of fabricclosing systems. The upper front opening 4 should be large enough topass a plate of food or an article of clothing, etc, inside the garmentor passing such items outside of the garment. This opening will beclosable with Velcro™ or similar system. The lower front opening 5 willbe for the males convenience when using the restroom and can be closedwith Velcro™ or similar system.

The bottom opening 6 can be opened to a size large enough to allow thewearer to put the garment on and off. It can also be closed at thebottom with Velcro™ or similar system. It will have a strip of nylonsewn around the entire bottom to prevent wear. It should be sewn tonetting 11 the same way as the nylon strip 12 is sewn to netting 11 inFIG. 4. Velcro™ can then be attached to the bottom strip of nylon so theentire bottom of the garment can be opened or closed. If the wearerwishes to pull the feet inside the garment the entire bottom of thegarment can be closed with Velcro™. If the wearer wishes to walk withthe garment on, the bottom opening can be closed around the tops of theshoes and remain closed between the feet to allow mobility while stilldenying insects entry. The bottom strip may have two loops of elastic(not shown) that can be looped under the shoes to hold the garment downclose to the shoes.

Before Velcro™ is attached to the garment it should be sewn to a pieceof nylon first rather than sewing Velcro™ directly to the garment. Thenthe nylon with the Velcro™ attached can be sewn to the garment. Doublestitching for strength is recommended everywhere anything is attached.

The circular cloth piece 8 is sewn to the top piece 1 to keep insectsfrom reaching the wearers head and as an attachment for chin strap 9.The chin strap 9 keeps the garment from sliding around and keeps thegarment in place if wind is present. It can be made of an elasticmaterial or cotton, like a shoe string with an adjustable stop so thewearer can adjust for comfort under the chin.

FIG. 2 shows the garment from the right elevation, the left elevation isa mirror image of the right elevation. The circular cloth piece 8 isshown and should be sewn to the inside center of top piece 1 and shouldbe large enough and thick enough to prevent insects from reaching thehead when trying to bite through from the top of top piece 1.

Chin strap 9 is made of either of thin elastic material or cottonmaterial such as a shoe string that has adjustable cord lock, like thetype found on stuff sacks, so the chin strap can be adjusted forcomfort. It will be sewn to cloth piece 8 just above the ears. It willprevent the garment from sliding around and keeps the garment in placeif wind is present.

The arm opening 7 is shown for the right arm to extend out as needed andclose with Velcro™.

FIG. 3 shows the rear elevation. The rear convenience flap 10 is shown.It will be a flap type or trap door type opening similar to the rearopening seen in one piece long underwear. It will have Velcro™ orsimilar closer on the left, right and bottom that can be opened forrestroom use. The Velcro™ should be sewn to the nylon flap along theleft, right and bottom edges, and Velcro™ sewn to nylon strips and thensewn to the left, right and bottom edges of the opening in the garment.The top of flap 10 will be sewn to the garment.

FIG. 4 shows the way the nylon strip of material 12 is folded overnetting material 11 so that the netting material 11 is sandwichedbetween the folded piece of nylon strip 12. Then with double stitchingdie folded piece of nylon strip 12 with the netting material 11 betweenthe fold of nylon strip 12 is all sewn together. Then nylon strip 12 canbe attached along the outer edge of top piece 1, double stitching isrecommended.

FIG. 5 demonstrates how spring steel hoop 2 is sandwiched between thefolded over edge of top piece 1. The folded over edge of top piece 1with spring steel hoop 2 between the fold of the edge of top piece 1 isall sewn together. Double stitching is recommended on both sides ofspring steel hoop 2.

It should be understood that the descriptions of the invention were madeas specific as possible and that changes in materials, openings, supportsystems and closer systems, fall within the true scope of the inventionand are covered by the stated claims.

1. The body portion of the garment will be made mostly of see-throughinsect barrier netting or similar material.
 2. The top and seating areaof the garment will be made of nylon or similar material.
 3. The supportfor the garment will be made from a spring steel or plastic ring or hoopsewn into the outer edge of the nylon top of the garment.
 4. There willbe a chin strap made of elastic or cotton string or other similarmaterials to hold the garment in place.
 5. There will be variousopenings for convenience made from Velcro™ or similar closer.
 6. Therewill be a circular piece of cotton or similar soft material sewn intothe inside of the top so when placed on the head will provide enoughdistance between the top and the wearers head that insects can not reachthe wearer. It will also be an attachment point for the chin strap. 7.The garment can be worn over regular clothing, including shorts and ashort-sleeved shirt.
 8. The spring steel or plastic ring of the top willbe thin enough to be twisted and folded to reduce the size of the top toapproximately one third of it's original size.
 9. When worn, the garmentwill create a large interior space for the wearer to eat, drink andperform normal simple tasks in comfort for many hours.